System and Method to Reduce the Aerodynamic Force on a Vehicle

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a tractor-trailer including a tractor having a lower tractor duct that receives first air from a front of the tractor and channels the first air through a center area of the tractor and down between a set of rear wheels, a trailer having a lower trailer duct positioned below a cargo space and that channels the first air in the lower trailer duct between each set of trailer rear wheels and a lower articulation duct positioned near the set of rear wheels in the tractor that receives air from the lower tractor duct and communicates air to the lower trailer duct. An upper duct is also provided with an articulation duct that channels air through a ductwork at the top of the trailer and tractor. A louver system at the rear of the trailer enables the air in each duct to be channeled and pulled out of the respective duct in such a manner as to reduce drag and eddy currents using the vacuum at the rear of the trailer.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/119,073, filed May 12, 2008, which is the non-provisional ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/917,338, filed May 11, 2007, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/132,843, filed on May 19, 2005 and U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/530,151, filed on Sep. 8, 2006. These applications are incorporatedby reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to an aerodynamic design for a vehicle andmore specifically to tractor trailer design in which an aerodynamic airduct is positioned to enable air to flow through the center of thetractor and through the trailer.

BACKGROUND

Class 8 Semi Tractor/Trailers and other large class trucks haveseriously poor aerodynamic characteristics, particularly at highway andfreeway speeds. These poor aerodynamic characteristics contribute toextremely poor fuel economy as more than 50% of the horsepower of thewheel drive energy goes towards overcoming the aerodynamic drag on largebody trucks. This is particularly true of Class 8 Semi Tractor/Trailerswith full size trailers.

In general, these trucks have very poor aerodynamic characteristics,particularly at high speeds over 55 mph. Also, it is known in theindustry, that more than 50% and indeed as much as 60% of the horsepowerit takes to drive a Semi Tractor/Trailer down the road, 50-60% of thatcomponent goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag. That is a very seriousproblem in that it reduces gas mileage considerably. Overcoming theseinefficiencies and losses due to poor aerodynamics even in a small wayleads to substantial savings when multiplied across many thousands oftrucks driving across the country every day. FIG. 1A illustrates atraditional tractor and trailer combination 100. Of the 689HP channel inthe engine 25HP is used by internal components, 75HP is used for coolingand 60HP is lost to transmission 106 heating. 273HP is lost to theatmosphere through exhaust. Of the 400 HP on the test bench, afteratmospheric losses, 300HP is delivered to the flywheel and 240HP isdelivered to the drive line 508. Then, 240HP is delivered to the tireson the road. 144HP goes into over coming aerodynamics and 96HP into tirerolling resistance. Of the 144HP to aerodynamics, 58HP is in frontaerodynamics, and 50HP on rear drag and 36HP on surface friction. Whatis needed in the art is a mechanism to improve fuel efficiency invehicles.

SUMMARY

The present invention generally relates to vehicles and morespecifically relates to a system and method of providing a split engineaerodynamic design for a Semi Tractor/Trailer system. The principles ofthe disclosure may be applicable to any type of vehicle, but thepreferred embodiment is shown in terms of a Semi Tractor/Trailer.

The invention generally relates to system and methods for providing asplit engine, hydraulic transmission aerodynamic vehicle. The preferredembodiment of the invention comprises a Semi Tractor/Trailer having asplit engine design in which there are two engine blocks that arephysically separated and preferably positioned on the left and righthand portion of the cab. Each of these split engines drives a hydraulicpump. A hydraulic transmission communicates with each of the respectivehydraulic pumps and provides a mechanism for converting the rotationalenergy from each of the respective split engines to hydraulic pressurewhich is used to drive hydraulic motors associated with each of thewheels of the vehicle. A computerized control system communicates withthe various elements including the engine, various sensors throughoutthe vehicle and the hydraulic pumps and motors in order to control thevehicle. The vehicle also comprises at least one air flow duct.Preferably, a first air flow duct flows in between the split engines inthe lower portion of the cab and the air flow duct is continuous fromthe tractor and through a mechanism for maintaining the channel througha lower portion of the trailer and providing an exit pathway for the airat the rear of the trailer. An optional secondary air flow duct isdefined at an upper portion of the vehicle and preferably includes anopening at the portion of the top of the cab. A mechanism is used tomaintain the channel through the cab and a top portion of the trailersuch that the air can exit out a rear portion of the trailer.

The present disclosure also includes a computer system having basichardware components such as a central processing unit, memory, a harddrive, a bus and other communication means for communicating thefunctionality of a computer program to the various components of thesystem. Such a control system would be known by those of skill in theart and all such hardware components and communication means, sensors,feedback loops and control valves and mechanisms are generally known tothose of skill in the art and further details are not provided hereinbut may be added via amendment without adding new matter to the presentapplication.

This invention will greatly reduce the aerodynamic drag coefficient of astandard class 8 semi tractor/trailer configuration, thereby reducingthe wheel drive horsepower. This reduction in required horsepower tomaintain highway or freeway speed will result in substantial savings offuel. The concepts disclosed herein will produce a very substantialsavings in horsepower and in fuel when these trucks are driven athighway and freeway speeds, which these trucks spend a great portion oftheir life going over 50 mph, sometimes over 60 mph, and they travelmany hours a day on the roads.

Another embodiment of the invention may comprise a computer readablemedium such as a hard drive, compact disc or other physical medium whichmay store a computer program for controlling a computing device toperform the various control functionality generally described herein toenable the operation of one or more components of the vehicle. Suchcontrol programs and mechanisms are implementable by those of skill inthe art with the basic details of the inventive functionality disclosedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates the horse power lost on a typical class 8 truckthrough the various components;

FIG. 1B illustrates a standard aerodynamic drag on a class 8 truck;

FIG. 1C illustrates prior art aerodynamic drag reduction efforts;

FIG. 2A illustrates a front view of a truck according to an aspect ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 2B illustrates a side view of a proposed truck;

FIG. 2C illustrates a back view;

FIG. 2D illustrates a bottom view;

FIG. 3A illustrates a side view including control mechanisms;

FIG. 3B also illustrates a bottom view with additional controlmechanisms; and

FIG. 4 illustrates aerodynamic flow according to an aspect of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following provides a discussion of the preferred embodiment of theinvention. As has been noted, however, the general principles disclosedhere can applicable to any vehicle whether a truck, a snow-basedvehicle, air-based vehicle and so forth. The preferred embodiment willbe disclosed with reference to a tractor/trailer system but, as can beseen, the basic use of a split engine hydraulic transmission wherein anair duct flows between the split engines as a basic component of thepresent disclosure may be applicable in many other contexts. Thefollowing description will be with reference to the various figures andnumbers referenced in FIGS. 1A-4.

Aerodynamic drag on a standard configuration Class 8 truck as shown inFIG. 5 falls into five basic areas: 1) The brunt force of the semitractor/trailer as its nose moves forward through the ambient air athigh speeds. 2) The frictional eddy forces that develop roll down alongthe sides and the top of the semi tractor/trailer's surfaces as a resultof the disruption of the air that gets diverted off the nose. Thiscauses the air off the nose to interrupt the air that normally flows bythe front of the truck. The air off the nose receives a force away fromthe truck which falls back into eddy currents, which start to roll asthey try to correct themselves and impact the truck. Eddy currents rolldown the side of the truck which takes energy. Any time you put energyinto a truck and energy into creating eddy currents, the eddy currentsrequire energy to be corrected. 3) The eddy current air from the bruntforce of the tractor that collapses between the road and the under sideof the trailer and churned by the wheels and other non-aerodynamicattachments under the trailer. Anytime particularly vertical surfacesexist with voids behind them, as is under the truck and behind thetruck, (#3 is in regards to under the truck) these voids, as they movevertically through the ambient air, create a vacuum behind themselves.So eddy currents and air will swirl and find a way underneath theunderside of the truck, bouncing off the wheels, churned by the wheels,and bouncing off other non-aerodynamic surfaces on the truck creating adrag situation. This is observable when it rains, where one can see theswirling pattern in the fog of the rain as raindrops bounce off thewheels. 4) The turbulence that develops in the gap between tractor andthe trailer as air gets into this vertical surface and bounces around,forms eddy currents and comes back out. Whatever air goes into thiscavity has to come back out. Going in and coming out takes energy andwhen it comes out it also creates forces that disturb other air, causingmore energy losses. 5) Drag develops behind the vertical surface of theend of a semi tractor/trailer as this surface moves forward and throughthe air. A large envelope vacuum system is developed and eddy currentsbehind the truck have to be continually collapsing and forming. As thissurface moves at 60-70 mph through the air, it creates a tremendousvacuum and energy is further wasted if a difference of even a few PSIexists between it and the surrounding air.

The ambient air is typically at 14.7 PSI and as this surface experienceseven two PSI lower than ambient, multiply by the number of square incheson the surface of the truck, which could be greater than 20,000 squareinches. This 8×12 foot square vertical surface and that number of squareinches multiplied by the delta PSI that amounts to a very large force.Sometimes over 40,000 pounds.

This disclosure uses a special configuration of ducts andtractor/trailer components to mitigate and reduce the above five areasof aerodynamic drag. The basic configuration and operational function ofthe class 8 truck semi tractor/trailer remain basically unchanged by thedescribed modifications, such as driver ergonomics, loading, unloading,dock heights, cargo configuration, docks and maneuvering of the truck.Generally, the structure used for fueling, unloading and loading thesetrucks, etc., will not change with this configuration.

Pollution will be reduced because the amount of carbon dioxide emissionand the amount of fuel burned per mile and carbon output per mile willbe greatly reduced. Because of the unique configuration of this engineand drive components, the operational reliability weight of thistractor/trailer will be increased and the weight will be decreased.Serviceability of this configuration of engine and dive train componentswill be greatly increased. This is due to the fact that the motors anddrive are relocated in this truck such as they are more accessible tomechanics and they are modularized such that they can be quicklydisconnected and reconnected to the point where service might be able tobe performed on the road, rather than in a shop, with interchangeablecomponents from a service vehicle. In particular, this truck replacesthe gear transmission with a hydraulic transmission system, which alsosaves weight. Companies like Superdrive, Inc. have known hydraulictransmission technologies that may be applicable. Stability increasesbecause the engines are separated. This is a twin engine system with asingle or multiple drive system or dual integrated drive system suchthat the components utilize the split engine systems to increasereliability. One of the unique characteristics of this is that thistruck will be able to tow itself. If one engine breaks down, the otherengine can still tow this truck at low speed to a location where itmight be able to get fixed, or to at least get it off the road. Anotheradvantage is that the engines are moved away from center distributes themass of the engines, allowing for greater stability. Between beinglowered and being placed out board, the centroid and the center ofgravity are shifted down and out. Furthermore, the stability of thetruck is increased because this truck does not have a geared engine,like the transmission, but it has hydraulic pumps. The transmission andon through the body that causes the truck to lurch and to rock back andforth as it changes gears is mitigated by the fluid transitional flow ofhydraulic pumps and the hydraulic drives. Standard diesel fuels orstandard bio-diesel fuels can be used in this new truck.

FIG. 2A illustrates a front view of the truck 200. Feature 220represents the nose opening of the lower duct and it is fashioned to asquare duct, with aerodynamic leading edges. The square opening fits thestandard width of a class 8 semi tractor. This opening allows air toenter the tractor/trailer 200 at the front of the truck the energy thatputs its air into the truck is derived from the truck from thetractor/trailer moving down the road by using the horsepower and theengine to push the truck through the oncoming ambient air to enter asthe tractor/trailer moves down the road and highway and freeway speedsor other speeds. The lower ducts are completely enclosed. The lower ductand an upper duct are completely enclosed to enable fresh air enteringthese ducts to become pressurized in the ducts. It does not create alifting problem with these trucks because the air pressure isdistributed equally everywhere in a cross section of the duct. Becausethe pressure is felt equally everywhere, there is no lifting surfacesper se in the interior of these ducts. The edges of the ducts areaerodynamic leading edges; they cut through the air. This is animportant component of these ducts because this structure attempts tohave as much air as possible that passes the front of the truck get cutwith the air either going into the ducts or the air either passing onthe outside surfaces of the truck. The purpose for this is to maintainair flow down the side of the truck 200 undisturbed with a thin boundarylayer. This is important because undisturbed and thin boundary layersrequire less energy. The disclosed truck 200 stream lines the air flowlayers as smoothly as possible and as far as possible down the side ofthe tractor/trailer 200 before they start to pick up turbulence. Thisapproach saves energy.

Feature 212 illustrates a laminar flow register. It allows all excessair not capable of passing beyond the 200 truck to flow outside of thetruck in a high speed laminar flow pattern. The laminar flow registercan be automatically adjusted for vehicle speed and air pressure.

Feature 218 illustrates a portion of the truck 200 that is tapered inorder to force the intake air to go into compressional laminar flow, sothat the whole volume of intake air can move through a smallerconstriction down line. The control surfaces are shaped so as toaccomplish this in the most efficient manner. Although this processrequires energy input from the tractor/trailer 200 moving through theambient air, other energy savings are netted back because most frontalair from the nose of the tractor is no longer forced to changedirections around the tractor/trailer and the sides of thetractor/trailer have a much greater chance of moving through the ambientair with out disturbing it into larger eddy currents. This keeps theboundary layer between the ambient air and the side surfaces of thetractor/trailer as small as possible, thus reducing energy fluid flowenergy losses. A port can be constructed to take off air that iscompressed, for example, above 1 atmosphere as a charging duct forengine intake combustion air thus improving the compression ratiocharacteristics of the engine. The exhaust passes heat into the secondcycle energy recovery system incorporated herein by reference. Afterextracting energy, the exhaust can be returned to the lower duct. Thiswill be at a higher ambient temperature and pressure and which will aidin air flow characteristics to the back of the trailer thus enhancingthe performance of disrupting the vacuum and also temper the air in theduct to aid in reducing snow and ice buildup because of its temperature.The lower and upper duct will have a heating system as mentioned aboveto de-ice critical icing points to keep it free from ice and snow.

Feature 216 is a transitional duct that conducts the air flow betweenthe drive tires 222A area. The duct 216 also forms a structural memberto support the drive tires 222A and is integral to the tractorstructural frame 231. As this duct 216 has a smaller cross-sectionalarea than the opening of the duct (220) the air flow in this region willspeed up and its pressure will drop in accordance with the Bernoulliprinciple. Air in this entire duct system cannot provide any aerodynamiclift to the vehicle relative to the ground, because the duct is enclosedand all internal duct surfaces have equal pressure impinging on them.

Viewing feature 218 in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the transitional nature ofthis duct is shown as a duct funnel that causes the compression.Undisturbed air that enters duct 220 will flow for a while until itflows to and through duct 218 which will force the air intocompressional laminar flow. Duct 218 has the purpose of constricting andcompressing the air. The energy to do this is provided by the truckmoving forward. Feature 216 is the throat or the square duct 216 thatfollows duct 218 as shown between the tires 222B and 222C in FIG. 2B.This duct 216 provides a square consistent restriction through the backtires 222B and 222C. Thus, the air flows from duct 220 to duct 218 toduct 216. Once in duct 216, it enters a Bernoulli shape. The air in thisconstriction state is 4 to 5 times smaller in cross-sectional area, sothe air will increase in speed substantially.

As the air goes through this Bernoulli shape, the Bernoulli principlestates that air flowing through a Bernoulli shape will, in order tospeed up, reduce its pressure and move faster.

FIG. 2A also illustrates a lower duct laminar register 212. The lowerduct laminar register 212 is designed to process overflow air thatcannot be processed by ducts 220, 218, 216 any air that can't beprocessed by that system will bypass into the laminar flow registers212. The purpose of these laminar registers 212 is to allow excess airto flow into a laminar grill and be ejected out the sides of the truckin a controlled manner. FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrate a high speedlaminar flow configuration. This process costs some energy, but itallows air sheering by the air that travels down the outside of thetruck. This air sheers by and passes the nose of the truck undisturbedin a laminar flow air at higher speeds than the truck speed. The laminarflow at speeds faster than the truck speed is joined with the bypassingoutside air. This causes a minimal boundary layer or a minimal eddycurrent formation on the outside of the truck. The purpose of this ingeneral is to move as much air as far down the tractor/trailer 200 aspossible before it starts to develop turbulence and to pass as much airas possible through. Ducts 220, 218 and 216. In general, this representsa net savings of energy, rather than bouncing all the air off of atraditional standard truck configuration as shown in FIG. 1B.

Feature 256 in FIG. 2B illustrates a lower duct articulation device thatarticulates between the tractor duct 216 and trailer duct 262. Thisarticulation device 256 allows for continual air flow between duct 216and duct 262 at relatively low articulation angles, this is usually whenthe tractor/trailer is at highway and freeway speeds. When at low speedand at turning and backing maneuvers the articulation device isautomatically disconnected then reconnected. The device 256 is a placeof articulation between the tractor and the front, lower section of thetrailer lower duct. This device allows for articulation at high speeds.Traditionally a tractor/trailer going 50 mph and above has less than a 7degree angle of articulation for traveling down a highway. Thisdisconnect is a smooth, circular and large radius circular device. Itallows for the duct to swing back and forth at high speeds. It has asmall grommet system for engaging the air to seal it off. This grommetcan be broken at will, it can be broken at the end of a rapid turn,physically or it can be withdrawn electronically. It has a physicaldisconnect, a safety disconnect and it has an electronic disconnect sowhen the truck speeds get below a certain level, it will automaticallydisconnect and it poses no safety danger in overcoming articulation.After air enters through this seal, it expands through this Bernoullimovement and it will start to slow down and it expands into a largerduct 262.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the trailer duct and features smooth aerodynamictransitions at the articulation point and at the rear trailer wheels.This duct is enclosed and transfers air flow to the rear of the trailer.This duct also acts as an integral continuous surface with the trailersides and removable access covering for the wheels to form an over allaerodynamic surface for the tractor/trailer to pass through the ambientair, with minimal boundary layer effect. This is the full size duct ofthe trailer. Duct 262 has a greater cross-sectional area than duct 216does. The air speed will reduce in duct 262 and this is good because asthis air travels through this entire duct system, it experiencesfrictional losses on the surface and frictional losses take energy. Butthey take less energy because the air is in compressional laminar flow,so the air takes less energy than if it flows on the outside of thevehicle. So by flowing on the inside, there is a penalty in frictionallosses of the interior surface but the penalty can be compensated for.

By allowing the surface area to increase, some of the frictional flowcan be overcome. Duct 262 also serves an important purpose by forming askirting for the trailer that goes all the way down to within 11 or 12inches of the surface for the road. The 11 or 12 inches is a minimalrequirement for trucks to travel down roads. This forms another functionby streamlining and keeping the air from circulating underneath thetruck. The design improves the air flow by really being a duct and not awinglet as in the prior art. The design serves a dual purpose of helpingto streamline and to transmit air internally. The air in duct 262reaches another duct and it comes to a second Bernoulli shape and itflows through a second Bernoulli shape 263). Again the air pressure willdrop, the air speed will pick up, but the air is starting to lose energyfrom frictional losses inside this duct. But the structure gainssomething important in the lower point of 262 and the rear point of 263.At this point, part of the duct starts to experience the pull from thevacuum at the rear of the truck from the exit of this duct 264 and 266.Features 244 and 266 are exit points for duct 256 and 263.

Feature 263 is an aerodynamic Bernoulli type duct that allows the airflow to move smoothly around the rear trailer tires 222D, 222E. Thisallows the air to speed up and the pressure of the air to drop so as topromote equal the flow in this constriction. This duct 263 also doublesas a structural member supporting the rear tires and the trailer frame.

Feature 266 picks up air prior to the Bernoulli shape in a shaped ventthat receives air and helps reduce the pressure of air from frictionallosses as air goes through the Bernoulli shape associated with the rearwheels. This is a grading shaped duct that receives air at a point justbefore the tire 222D and channels the air into an expandable duct 268.Duct 266 is a thin duct, preferably 3 to 4 inches or other widths, butit expands in a vertical direction as it goes backwards. Air exits atfeature 280, which is a set of exit registers that are verticalpositioned along the exit edges of the back of the truck.

The air flowing through duct 266 flows backwards and exits the rear ofthe truck in the opposite direction of the travel of the truck. Sincethe vacuum is high at the back of the truck, the vacuum can pull airthrough duct 268. Air, in turn, is pushed by the force of air flowingdown the main lower duct air through the shaped vent at 266 and so airpasses under and then at the rear of duct 268 and then is pulled byvacuum through the exit vertical registers 280. This structure relievesair pressure in the lower duct that is building up by frictional forceand distributes air, breaks down eddy currents and breaks the vacuum atthe rear of the truck along vertical edges. This portion of the trailerdoes not process a great amount of air, but it is very fast moving airand this approach helps with the air foil as air tries to go around theback and collapse around the back of the truck. The structure performsan important function to keep the air flowing straight so that it has toprovide air to fill the vacuum in as it were.

Feature 256 is a place of articulation between the tractor and thefront, lower section of the trailer lower duct. This articulator 256allows for articulation at high speeds. Traditionally, a tractor/trailergoing 50 mph and above has less than a 7 degree angle of articulationfor traveling down a highway. This articulator is a smooth, large radiuscircular device that allows for the duct to swing back and forth at highspeeds. It has a small grommet system for engaging the air to seal itoff. This grommet can be broken at will, and can be broken at the end ofa rapid turn, physically or it can be withdrawn electronically. It has asafety disconnect as well as an electronic disconnect so when the truckspeeds get below a certain level. In this case, it will automaticallydisconnect and it poses no safety danger in overcoming articulation.After air enters through this seal, it expands through this Bernoullishape and then will start to slow down and it expands into a largerduct.

Air that is drawn out of feature 264 may be channeled into two places.It goes into louvers 286, which is a series of lower duct louvers whichdistribute the air along the lower third or so of the back of the truckand starts the vacuum and fills the vacuum in with a high volume of air.Air from 264 also travels up what is called the snorkel duct 284 whichis a vertical duct that goes up the center of the truck. It also acts asa cargo bulk head, i.e. it helps to keep the cargo in. It is positionedlike the closing of a door and acts kind of like the rear door to holdsthe cargo in. The bulk head on the back surface facing the cargo holdsthe cargo in the cargo space. On the front surface, it has a series oflouver registers that spread air out across the back of the truck. Thesnorkel duct 284 experiences the full center of the vacuum that is onthe back of the truck. The vacuum at the back of these louvers pulls airthrough the snorkel duct 284 so that air is both being pulled throughthe snorkel by vacuum and pushed through the snorkel by pressure from264.

Feature 264 is the rear trailer duct that is a continuation of duct 263and distributes the continuous air flow over the width of the back ofthe trailer. The back vertical surface of a trailer is many thousands ofsquare inches in area (usually the rear doors area). This surface movesforward through the ambient air creating an envelope of reduced pressureair behind this reduced pressure air, a partial vacuum applied overseveral thousand square inches of the vertical surface area is a verylarge drag force. The air exiting the lower duct has the physicalability to fill in this vacuum, thus equalizing the pressure andextinguishing the force. In order to be the most effective at reducingthe rear drag force the duct air needs to be distributed across theentire rear vertical surface.

Feature 264 is the expansion of the Bernoulli shape. This expansion alsostarts to feel a powerful effect of the vacuum from the back of thetruck (vacuum bubbles). Air is pulled out of duct 264 and goes into twoplaces. It goes into structure 286, which is a series of lower ductlouvers which distribute the air along the lower third or so of the backof the truck and starts and fills the vacuum in with a high volume ofair. Air from louvers 286 also travels up what is called the snorkelduct 284. The snorkel duct 284 is a vertical duct that goes up thecenter of the truck. It also acts as a cargo bulk head; it helps to keepthe cargo in. It is positioned like the closing of a door and acts likethe rear door. It holds the cargo in, the bulk head on the back surfacefacing the cargo holds it in. On the front surface, it has a series oflouver registers that spread air out across the back of the truck. Thesnorkel duct 284, the opening in the louvers, experiences the fullcenter of the vacuum that's on the back of the truck. The vacuum at theback of these louvers pulls air through the snorkel duct 284, so air isboth being pulled through the snorkel by vacuum and pushed through thesnorkel duct 284 by pressure from duct 264. There is a diversion of airas well. Duct 264 splits the air into two flows, it goes out rearregisters and it also has a function that air is pulled through.

This lower duct 284 enables the overall energy savings to be quite largebecause the net effect is that although the air experiences internalfriction at a certain cost, the air experiences a cost to compress thisair, there is a payback in the vacuum sucking it out.

Louvers 286 attached to the exit of the lower duct distribute the air tothe lower portion of the back surface of the trailer. This air in turnreduces the drag force on the rear vertical surface of the trailer. Theforming vacuum at the rear of the trailer actually helps pull the airout of the rear of the lower duct and thus helps overcome the internalsurface drag coefficient and thus reduces the horse power required tocompress the air at the front intake of the lower duct.

The snorkel duct 284, discussed above, communicates air flow from theexit of the lower duct to a set of distribution louvers up the verticalcenter area of the rear trailer surface. The purpose of this duct is todeliver air flow across the rear vertical surface of the trailer inorder to break the vacuum and thus the drag force on this surface. Thevacuum drag force is at its highest at the center line of the trailervertical surface, because ambient air has the greatest distance to go toflow around the edges of the trailer and fill into the center of thevertical surface. This drag force creates a very large pressuredifferential to pull higher pressure air out of the lower duct and upthe snorkel duct and be distributed on the vertical surface.

Feature 282 shows tune-able distribution louvers of the vertical snorkelduct 284. Small ducts 280 communicate small flows of air between thelower duct forward of the rear trailer wheels to the vertical expansionduct 268. The purpose of this process is to provide some tune-ablepressure relief to the lower duct caused by internal surface friction.Vent 280 picks up air prior to the Bernoulli shape in a shaped vent thatpicks up air and helps reduce the pressure of air from frictional lossesas air goes through this Bernoulli shape. This is a grading shaped ductthat grabs air at a point just before the tire and it introduces it intoan expandable duct 268, it's a very thin duct, probably 3 to 4 inches,but it expands as it goes backwards and expands and it goes vertical.It's a vertical duct and it exits at feature 280 at the back of thetruck. Feature 280 is a set of exit registers that are vertical alongthe exit edges of the back of the truck. These vertical ducts 280 runalong the backside surface of the truck. The air flowing through theduct 280 flows backwards and exits the rear of the truck. It exits inthe opposite direction of the travel of the truck. The vacuum pressureis very high at the back of the truck, so there is a vacuum at 280 thatpulls air through 268. Air, in turn, is pushed by the force of airflowing down the main lower duct air through the shaped vent at 266 andso they enter under pressure at 268 and then at the rear of 268. Theyare pulled by vacuum through the exit vertical registers 280. So ingeneral, the system 266, 268, 280 relieves air pressure in the lowerduct that is building up by frictional force and it also distributesair, breaks eddy currents and breaks the vacuum at the rear of the truckalong vertical edges. Although it is not a great amount of air, it isvery fast moving air, it helps with the air foil as air tries to goaround the back and collapse around the back of this truck, coming downthe sides, it performs an important function to keep that air straightso that it has to provide air to fill the vacuum in as it were.

The vents 266 are connected to a thin vertical expansion duct 268 oneach side of the cargo payload. This duct transports air at higherpressure to the exit of the expansion duct 280.

Feature 280 is the thin vertical exit louvers at the end of theexpansion duct 268. These louvers distribute air into the vertical sidesof the rear surface of the trailer thus aiding in the reduction of dragforces at the vertical edges of the rear trailer.

Computer system 270 is shown in FIG. 2B in the cab. It may be in anylocation of the truck. The dotted lines show communication with thecomputer 270, which is any computing device. There are various sensorsfor air pressure and flow and temperature or any variation of these. Thecomputing device 270 also controls valve activators and other controlmechanisms. The dotted lines virtually go to every controlled device.Features 215, 209, 211 are actuators and features 213, 207 and 205 aresensors. Sensors, actuators and other devices provide feedback to thecomputer 270 to protect the condition of air and to modulate the ventingand the opening and closing of vents and those kinds of things to keepthe air flowing based on changing conditions.

Sensors 213, 207, 205 sense air conditions and then open or close thelaminar flow registers 215, 209, 211.

Cab 210 is the aerodynamic operators cab canopy. Its purpose is to forceambient air up and around to the sides of the canopy. The canopy alsoincreases visibility for the operator. Feature 210 is actually the nosecone. The nose cone can be formed in various ways, not necessarily theway shown here. The nose cone can be formed in various ways to augmentergonomic conditions for the operator to find the best ergonomic views.Air hitting 210 courses down the sides of the nose cone and across thetop. The upper duct has an opening that constricts ⅔ of its originalopening in 224, in the constriction duct, and it compresses the air downto 30% less volume. And then there is a register at 204 that takes alloverflow air that cannot be pressurized through this system of upperducting, if it cannot be compressed and passed on, then it enters thelaminar flow register which relieves this pressure. These laminar flowregisters work by a sensory feedback system that allow a detection ofair flow pressure in the duct as well as air wanting to come back outthe front of the duct and doesn't allow that to happen. The air to apoint where all the air has to enter the duct and either exit going downthrough the duct or exit through the laminar flow register. All of theselaminar flow registers are electronically controlled to open up littleopenings within the duct to either relieve excess air or close down toforce all the air through the ducts.

The idea is to sheer the front of the truck so that as much air aspossible gets as far down the truck as possible in laminar flow. And thesystem pays a little price on the front, but the air has to bounce offthe front of the truck anyway. If it has to bounce off the truck, itcauses a lot of disruption to the boundary flow layers. It spreads outinto the ambient sides of the air and disrupts a lot of ambient air andyou pay a price for that. Since the frictional price to hit the air andsmack it head on is already paid, this design makes the air act in adesirable way, making the air flow in ways that will get larger payback.

Feature 226 is the entry to the upper duct 224. Some low profile semitractor/trailers may not be configured for this duct but most will asthey need headroom margin to load trucks. It preferably has sharp edgesto cut the air and begin laminar flow. Feature 224 is the constrictionduct where direct ambient air and air from the canopy is compressed.Feature 204 is a laminar flow register. It allows all excess air notcapable of passing from the entry 226 to the compressor duct 224 to flowout of the duct in a high speed laminar flow pattern. The laminar flowregister can be adjusted for air pressure and vehicle speed. This helpsassure laminar flow on the sides of the tractor/trailer for thisoverflow air.

Feature 234 the transfer duct to convey air flow from the transitionduct 224 to the articulation duct 238. This lower duct articulationdevice 236 allows for articulation between the tractor duct 234 and thetrailer duct 242. This articulation device allows for continual air flowbetween duct 234 and duct 242 at relatively low articulation angles,this is usually when the tractor/trailer is at highway and freewayspeeds. When at low speed and at turning and backing maneuvers thearticulation device is automatically disconnected then reconnected whenfavorable conditions are present. The air continues on across the top ofthe cab over in duct 234. Then it meets another transitional duct 238which is another articulation duct. It has a very long radius of turningand allows it to freely turn in articulation but it also has a grommetdevice that will seal at high speeds, it can be broken away easily withno effort in an emergency and it can be electronically inserted to sealoff the duct from air flow in a high speed normal operation.

Duct 242 exists above the cargo space and transfers air flow to the rearof the tractor. A cargo membrane 240 weather profs the cargo from theelements. The rear cargo membrane 274 and cargo membrane 240 areattached and sealed to the sides of the trailer and are moveable inorder to allow for loading head room. After loading the flexiblemembrane is lowered as much as possible to create the maximum duct sizewithout damaging the cargo. The duct continues on into duct 242. Duct242 adds two features. The first is that duct 242 appears to allow theair to enter the cargo space of this tractor/trailer, but indeedtrailers have to have a reasonable fluctuation of head room. Not veryoften do they take up their entire head room with cargo because ofweight considerations, usually the weight fills up and there's space atthe top. But they had to have space to have maneuverability with thefork lift to raise the tines of the fork lift up and down to loadtrucks. After the cargo is positioned, a heavy sealed membrane islowered down onto the cargo surface and stretched over the cargo surfaceand battened down so that there is an air space. Typically trucks haveabout 24 inches of room at the top. So, most of the trucks haul adensity of weight and materials such that this head room is not sealedup, this back haul sometimes completely empty or almost empty trucks.The small back haul cargo, so it's quite easy to obtain this two feet.This rear membrane 274 also drapes over the back and completely sealsoff against the sides. It has a lowering mechanism that allows it totent up and down for loading characteristics. It has preferably Velcroseals or other fasteners to seal against weather, such as against rainalong the edges of it to allow water drain out. Other seals may be usedas well. So even though it appears that water is allowed to enter theduct, it's really a sealed membrane. A lot of trucks have the framed boxof the trailer with just a membrane on a frame and that's becoming verycommon for weight saving. The upper surface of the trailer is also amembrane.

The ceiling surface is also a membrane and it is allowed to bulge. It isallowed to bulge a few inches in pressurization so that air that's sentinto duct 238. If it's high pressure, it will allow this membrane tobulge a little bit, perhaps as a few inches. It will actually increasein aerodynamic shape, because if there is a curvature on the front ofthe truck, it actually helps maintain a proper shape. If there is acurvature along the long surface like this it helps maintain laminarflow. As the air goes on the outside of the truck, it actually forces itinto more of a laminar flow then it relieves itself as it goes out theback end.

Feature 276 is the exit to the upper duct 242 it delivers the air flowto the rear of the trailer. The exit of upper duct can also be connectedto the vertical snorkel duct 284 and can help deliver air to the centerof the rear of the vertical surface of the trailer to help reduce thedrag force. Like the lower duct 242 air from the exit of the upper ductcan be pulled out of the duct by the force of the rear vacuum, thushelping to over come the internal surface drag of the upper duct.

Feature 282 shows the louvers for the upper duct 242. These louversdistribute the air from the upper duct 242 to the rear vertical surfaceof the trailer to help reduce the rear drag force. The exit of duct 242is feature 276. These channels 276 channel the air to louvers 278. Asair travels through features 242, 276, 278, it starts to experience thepull of the vacuum in the back of the truck. The air is pulled out ofthese ducts and attempts to overcome the frictional forces on the insideof the duct surfaces. These frictional forces are going to be moreirregular, although the compression is going to be less in the upperduct because the upper duct is not going to swallow as much air and isnot going to compress it down quite as much as the hard nose of thelower duct. Because of the cargo shape 244, there are irregularities inthe configuration this duct 242 and it could be quite constrictive insome loads. Features 278, 282, 286, and 280 may be spherical louvers.All these louvers can be tuned and sphered through experimentation intovarious shapes as desired. Therefore, the louvers can take on othershapes than those shown in order to do the best job in breaking the eddycurrents at the vacuum behind the truck. The eddy currents can besizeable measure as large as 6 feet in diameter. This system of louversand vents process the pressurized air passing through these ducts, inconnection with the vacuum pulling the air out of these ducts, combineto enable the air behind the truck to flow as a continuous stream ratherthan forming eddy currents and vacuums. This approach providesconsiderable savings through reduced drag.

Feature 222A represents the front steering tires of traditional standardwidth. They are separated and outside of the lower duct so as to be ableto perform the steering function. Tires 222A are the two front steeringtires and they are standard, traditional tires. They are steerable; theyare in some wells that are part of the aerodynamic shape of ducts 220and 218. They fit into this aerodynamic shape so they can still performthe function of steering. Tires 222B, 222C, 222D and 222E are alsoshown.

Feature 230A is a hydraulic/N2 gas suspension system with high pressureair bearings. This compact design allows for more space to maximize thelower duct cross-sectional area. The high pressure air bearings allowfor greater reduced friction over standard bearings. The bearings canalso be standard bearings. Feature 230A is a new hydraulic system ofhydraulic shocks and accumulators. It is also a system of hydrauliccylinders, a shock absorber system with springs and also accumulatorsthat allow hydraulic fluid to collapse nitrogen gas bladders. Thepurpose of this feature is to create space so that the shock absorbersystem is greatly reduced and the springs have been as greatly reducedso that there is more space to augment and facilitate the large lowerduct

Features 288A, 288B, 288C, 288D, 288E illustrate hydraulic/N2 gasreservoirs. These are nitrogen hydraulic accumulators and allow thehydraulic piston to go up and down and forces hydraulic fluid at veryhigh pressure, up to 6-10 thousand PSI, to squash a nitrogen gasreservoir or a bladder. The bladder reacts back out as the bladderre-inflates, thus moving the hydraulic fluid back into the cylinder. Itis a system for replacing the shocks while creating space and is aspace-saving device. Since the general technology is widely known in theart, no more discussion is needed here.

Double wide tires 222B, 222C, 222D, 222E for semi-tractor/trailersgreatly reduce the rolling resistance over dual single wide tires. Thetractor/trailer preferably has eight double wide tires and two singlewide tires 222A rather than eighteen single wide tires. A double widewheel will open up the necessary space to place additional equipmentinside as outlined below (see 254A, 254B, 254C, 254D). This disclosurereduces and 18-wheel tractor/trailer down to ten wheels, eight of thembeing the new double-wide tires and two being the steerable tires. Thisalone will reduce the space needed. With one single tire, there's lessflexing of the side wall, less rolling resistance. The rollingresistance is combined into one tire so you don't have out of syncrolling resistance in the steel bands. So this is a feature used toprovide space for duct work as well and provides for a large wheel hub.

Feature 272 shows the nose cone shaped cab and control instrumentlocation. It can be many different shapes, the aerodynamic shape can beprovided in many different ways. The air shedding off the sides of thiscab 272 are directed into registers 206. These are the laminar flowregisters 206 to receive flow air that cannot pass upward into the upperduct 226 to force them to go through streamlining down the sides. Theselaminar flow registers 206 typically will be a little larger in widththan the other two upper and lower registers 204, 212. The cab 272contains the instruments, the drive system, and cameras instead ofmirrors that stick out and reduce aerodynamic shape. The arrangementprovides a system of a screen with four small views so the driver, at aquick glance without moving his or her eyes far off the road, can tellwhat's on all sides of the truck with four screens.

The operator 208 is positioned in the cab. This shows that theconfiguration of the driver won't change. The general configuration willnot change so that the ergonomics of training the millions of driverswill not be an issue.

The laminar flow cab side registers 206 channel air ambient air pushedlaterally away by the forward moving canopy. This register helps reduceeddy currents along the tractor/trailer sides. The air shedding off thesides of this cab are directed into these registers 206 and they takeover flow air that cannot pass upward into the upper duct to force themto go through streamlining down the sides.

There is a sleeper and personal area 217 for the operator. It is batteryheated.

An equipment compartment 250 stores basic components of a secondarythermodynamic cycle that generates electricity from waste heat frommotor exhaust, hydraulic fluid and engine block cooling. This is wheremost of the equipment is located for the second cycle cooling systemthat cools the engine, cools the exhaust gas, and cools the hydraulicsystems. This relates to an energy recovery system that is generallydisclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/132,843, filed May 19, 2005,incorporated herein by reference.

Feature 236 shows aerodynamic surfaces used to bridge the gap betweenthe tractor and the trailer. They reduce aerodynamic friction at highwayand freeway speeds, between the tractor and trailer. The surfaces 236can hinge away at low speeds to allow for articulation between thetractor and trailer. They close that gap and enable the continuous flowof air. They are winglets and hinged on the front end. The surfaces canbe gas hinged, gas closed with spring loading and small gas hydraulics,and they are meant to just freely flex with the articulation of thetruck. They are not controlled in any specific way and at high speedsthey fold down against the two surfaces and form an interval surface tokeep the laminar flow as reduced as possible during articulation whichcan be more than 90 degrees for semi trucks.

Surface 236 have structures on them such that they will automaticallyswing out like gills with no electronic or remote control, it will justbe a mechanically driven process. They will fold and tuck in and adjusttheir aerodynamic shape at high speeds. Surfaces 236 are different fromthe 212 and the 204 in that do they streamline air that flows off thefront of the truck and down the sides. They streamline air off thewindshield and the cab. They open on both sides. They a little wider anda little “dumber,” meaning that they are not as controlled and are justfor funneling air. They also provide that leading sharp edge. The edgesof surfaces 236 will be sharp, thin, wider, and integral.

Feature 228 is the radiator water cooling tank and is part of the lowerduct entry 200. This radiator cools for the second cycle equipment (oneon each side of the frame). Feature 228 is a lower water tank. Morewater is retained because the second cycle retains water out of theexhaust and reinjects it into the truck. It's captured and also used incooling, so there are more places where this truck needs water. Lowerradiator tank 228 is preferably integral with 220 but it could belocated anywhere. There can be water on the bottom, the top and thesides of the leading edges of duct 220, with the bottom being the largerreservoir. Water continually flows around this mouth of duct 220.Feature 220 is preferably a two walled duct with water in between. Theremay be a few inches of water on the sides and the top, water iscontinually circulated around with the bulk of the water being in thebottom. It is used for cooling and it is used in the second cycle forcooling. This is where the energy is dumped for the entire vehicle.Referencing the second cycle incorporated herein, the fans and theradiator surfaces on the second cycle are preferably located here.

Water will circulate around the opening 220. Heat is rejected bothinternally in the duct 220 and rejected externally. The second cycletakes water transfer down considerably. So this water in this system ismuch lowered than a traditional radiator. A traditional radiator willhave 200 degree fluid in it; this radiator will have fluids 120 or 140degrees and lower.

This radiator 228 is a much cooler radiator than a standard radiator, itwill have some protection. It will circulate air in a way that peoplecan't burn their hands on it on the outside of it, but it will haveradiator with bins on the inside of this duct that will be a littlehotter but they'll be inside the duct where they'll be protected frompeople touching it. But this is primarily because the heat is ultimatelyrejected. An auxiliary engine equipment space (one on each side of theframe) 232 stores auxiliary equipment related to the engine.

Feature 258 is an auxiliary water tank that stores condensed exhaustwater for the second cycle process. The tank 258 is used to storecaptured water from the exhaust condensate in the second cycle conceptthrough a series of chevrons and heat exchanges. The system captureswater out of the exhaust.

Feature 254D a hydraulic regenerative braking system that fits insidethe furthest rear wheel pairs. This system is computer controlled andgenerates electricity via hydraulic pumping when activated. It can bedifferentially turned on relative to the other braking wheel pairs. Thedouble wide tires 222E are 20 inches wide and quite large in diameterand they house a core which is the braking system. It has a hydraulicand a mechanical braking system. Feature 254D comes on before feature254C. Electronically controls turns on 254D slightly before 254C forstability. Therefore, the rear wheel 222E comes on and then the frontwheel 222D comes on. They can turn on together in braking or they cancome on separately because there are different modes of stopping. Tires254B and 254C also have hydraulic braking in them but they are driveflash brakes. In general, the philosophy of the braking is that 254D cancome on, then 254C and 154B and finally 254A in order. The operator canhave different acceleration curves using this approach. There aredifferent modes of operating this as well. Feature 200A in generaldescribes the tubing of the flow of hydraulic fluid. The drive systemfor the hydraulic drive is just tubes. It includes hoses and tubes thatfeed hydraulic fluid to the braking systems and also the hydraulicfluids in the drive system 254B, 254A in the pair of tires. Because ofthe valving, there are numerous ways, electronically, in which tires canbrake and drive according to the conditions of the road.

These conditions would be in long glides or in long downhill gradeswhere a truck has to go into a lower gear. Trucks drivers may switchinto lower gears, in this case, the system would just switch into alower, hydraulic braking which will accumulate energy. Each one of thesetires 222B, 222C has a hydraulic braking system 254A, 254B in them thathas up to 100 horsepower braking coils; they are essentially electricmotors that are driven backwards. These are a combination of hydraulicdrive and coils that can generate up to 100 horsepower in brakingcapability. This means that the 8 tires altogether can provide up to 800horsepower in braking. These are tightly, custom wound braking systemsthat are tucked into this large hub, which is now possible because ofthe size of these tires. So these dual wide tires segway perfectly intoproviding a cylindrical volume of space. It's a dual braking system,both mechanical and hydraulic electrical generation. So, with 800horsepower gained from braking, a semi tractor/trailer could slow downin probably 20 seconds or less to stop. That provides almost fullbraking. There's a safety set of override brakes that are thetraditional brakes that are tucked into this same cylinder that canbrake by operator override for additional braking, but typically theorder would be under control or typical braking.

Feature 254C is a hydraulic regenerative braking system that fits insidethe forward rear wheel pairs 222D. This system is computer controlledand generates electricity via hydraulic pumping when activated. It canbe differentially engaged relative to the other braking wheel pairs orcoordinated with all the brake pairs.

Features 260, 252B, 252C, 252D, 252E are the traditional air brakesystems. These semis will still have traditional air brakes. Feature 260represents an air compressor and is an air tank. Features 252B, 252C,252D, 252E are located in each one of the wheels. Those are thetraditional air brakes that the operator can use to override allelectric hydraulic braking recovery systems.

Twin half sized motors 214, rather that one full size motor, arepackaged for aerodynamic reasons in the cubic space between the steeringtires and the front drive tires. This configuration is also morereliable as one motor can “self-tow” the tractor/trailer in the eventone engine fails. Two engines have a better weight to power ratio thanone larger equal power engine. Two engines can be operated inindependent modes at appropriate times, such as coasting down longgrades to save additional fuel. This configuration uses no gearedtransmissions, but independent hydraulic drives for each wheel, for anet weight savings. Variable power from twin engines can be perfectlyblended because the pumped hydraulic fluid from each can be blended withvalves and tubing. The configuration placement of these engines makesthem more serviceable, as the smaller twin outboard engines, having nogeared transmissions, can be quickly disconnected from hydraulic linesand removed from the side of the tractor using jacked dollies.

Feature 244 is the hydraulic pumps attached to each engine. They provideenergy transmission in the form of high pressure hydraulic fluid.

They hydraulic 214 makes all this possible. An aspect of the disclosureis a split engine in terms of one engine that has 8 cylinders being 1split into two 4-cylinder engine blocks. Other number of blocks may beused as well. The engines are physically separated so we have twoengines completely separated on either side of the truck and they areeither 3, 4 or 6 cylinder systems depending on the horse power that'sneeded by the truck. There is no limitation on the number of cylinders.FIG. 2B shows a 200 horsepower engine, but it can be anything.

The split engine design lowers the center of gravity. It createsstability in two important ways. One is by changing the weightdistribution and number two is the fact that the motor 214 and thehydraulic pump 244 have a relatively smooth activity where the vibrationis not nearly as great. This benefits changing gears, the accelerationand deceleration of the truck, the lurching that is associated withtraditional driving. These problems go away because of the operationalcharacteristics of hydraulics.

A revival of hydraulics was seen because machinery got bigger and biggerand bigger during World War II and the only way to control largevehicles was with hydraulics 244. The present disclosure primarily usesthe hydraulic transmission. Hydraulic transmissions can be mass producedjust as cheaply as traditional geared systems. Furthermore, hydraulicshave been thought to be not as efficient as geared systems, but that'sbeing proved modernly to not be true because electronic control ofhydraulic systems have created analog systems that are nearly just asefficient as gear systems. Geared systems, with every gear change, causea complete loss of power for a few micro seconds. Integrating all thosemicro seconds of losses with gear changes adds up to an efficiencythat's just as great as a hydraulic system. Hydraulics are reallybecoming an important aspect of operating. Furthermore, hydraulics withthis disclosure segway also into dual use of hydraulics with a brakingsystem allowing the generation of electricity and a shared system ofhydraulic tubing which is in 606.

The flow is for the drive system, the motor drives the high pressure,low volume pump 244. Pump 244 picks up hydraulic fluid from thehydraulic fluid storage tank. An immersion primer pump keeps thehydraulic fluid from the hydraulic fluid storage tank and there isimmersion primer pump that keeps the hydraulic fluid at a certain numberof psi so fluid will flow readily to the devices it needs to and then ittakes that fluid out of the pump. Fluid goes into the pump, low pressurefluid comes out, and very high pressure goes into each one of the drives254B and 254C. The two motors and the two hydraulic pumps can operateindependently. The hydraulic drive/regenerative braking system 254B thatfits inside the forward drive wheel pairs 222B. This system is computercontrolled and drives or brakes the forward drive wheel pairhydraulically. In braking mode electricity is generated.

Features 254A, 254B are hydraulic drives. They have planetary gears andthey use high pressure hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic pumps to drivethe wheels forward. There is a unique energy saving characteristic ofthis configuration. In various modes of driving and grade changes,whether the truck is on long grades or flat grades for example, thesystem depends on the energy required to drive the truck and based onthe energy required to maintain the truck speed. Features 254A and 254Bcan be operated in various ways. The system can put fluid to all fourdrives or can put fluid to just two of the drives. Furthermore, incertain circumstances, one engine can be shut down. One of the enginescan be turned off and the system may provide fluid to just two driveswith the one engine. It is an electronically controlled hybrid where thesystem switches from an electrical motor to a fuel powered motor as itachieves as higher speed. With a traditional semi truck, there is a 6cylinder 400 horsepower engine that's chugging along and the systemcannot turn it off. With the present disclosure, if the truck is on along ten mile downgrade or even on a flat road, the system controlsthese engines so that one engine can maintain 65 mph on a flat gradejust using one of the two split engines. This helps both on wear andtear through wear leveling and helps with durability. One engine may beused and then the other.

The system may be further enhanced by varying which of the two motors isused just to maintain truck speed to kind of evenly wear them out thesystem could detect which engine is in better shape or which one isrunning more efficiently and make decisions between the two for variousreasons. The computer system will log all the hours of operation. Thecomputer will have numerous sensors that will log things like number ofRPMs, the running rate of torque and those kinds of things. Withhydraulics, there is no need for the traditional transmission. Bothengines can operate at different RPMs. A control system controls allmodules and components in this system. With two hydraulic systems, onehose may be pumping at maybe 70/80 PSI higher than the other ones, maybea couple hundred PSI higher than the other one. The two fluids will mixperfectly and will join together. The outcome of those two flows will beone fluid at one pressure. Those fluids go through a mixer and come outto impart perfect pressure to both drives on both sides of the vehicle.And then, there will be a planetary gear in that hub also that willallow you to increase the speed. Hydraulics has limited range, but thesystem includes a planetary gear in there that will allow the driver tostep the ratio up a little bit just to get up to those higher speeds.The driver can ride for an hour on one engine and then switch to theother engine on these long hauls and if you encounter a little hill, thesystem can either turn both engines on or you put fluid to 4 drivesinstead of 2. This is all seamless. Torque sensors or detectors will beused. It will make it easier to drive. Basic knowledge exists to thoseof skill in the art. For example, Superdrive, Inc. uses a singlehydraulic transmission and control.

Hydraulic fluid flows to the wheels both from the high pressure lowvolume pump 244 as well as directly from the tank 248. Features 254A,254B act as drives and generators and can go both ways. So they can takehigh pressure hydraulic fluid out of the pump, out of the high pressurepump, and drive the vehicle and then dump their fluid back via the lowerline or, in a braking sense. In an electrical generation sense, they cantake relatively low pressure primed, primed hydraulic fluid out of thetop of the tank and generate electricity. That electricity goes onto thegrid and back into feature 250 as a second cycle. In the case of 254Aand 254B, they act as both drives, mechanical drives, and, reversibly,electrical generators. Now in the case of 254C, 254D, they act just aselectrical generators in braking, in hydraulic braking and they'reaugmented by the traditional air brakes. Their brakes are veryresponsive and very quick, the brakes that the driver touches thebrakes, they get instantaneous performance. Hydraulics react a littleslower, but it can increase generation of energy. So, if you go down along grade or if you know that you're going to be slowing down for astop sign, the driver can press buttons A, B and C and those aredifferent braking curves. So the driver can quickly select a controlledbraking option A, B or C, or even D and set the electro-generation inmotion. Or, if needed to react quickly, the driver just steps on thebrakes and he gets air brakes.

A hydraulic circulatory system provides branched tubing, halving andtanks to circulate high and low pressure hydraulic fluid to pumps,drives, braking and electrical generation systems. In between the two606 numbers the figures represent that all the hydraulic system and thatno large mechanical differentials and drive lines and universal jointsand all that other mechanical equipment that gets in the way. Becausewhen you look at a semi tractor/trailer, it takes a lot of imaginationto believe that you can put this duct in there. The hydraulic lines canbe below the duct or above the duct or in any other locations or at amixed position. These hydraulic lines can be anywhere forserviceability, it might be far better for them to be below the ducts,but they also be more prone to damage. They can be on the sides, bottom,and interior of the air ducts in the corners for protectability. Thereare numerous ways to route them and protect them.

The disclosure now returns to a discussion on the motor 214. In thesoftware for operating the truck, typically a truck driver with JakeBrakes (or equivalent) will use the gears. The driver will either usethe gears to slow the truck down or, more sophisticated trucks actuallyhave Jake Brake hydraulics. The driver or a control system turns themall on at once gently, turning them all on hard for hard braking,turning them on in sequence and so forth. There are numerous ways tobrake which the software takes care of. But in general, the electricalrecovery from this braking is fed into the second cycle compartmentwhere the ultra-capacitors reside. This braking system collects, withina few seconds of braking, huge amounts of energy that is trickled backinto the battery charging system, trickled back into electrolysis,trickled back into all the different little pumps, micro pumps andlittle pump systems that use electricity because this is an all electrichydraulic system. This truck gets away from the traditional mechanicalcooling systems such as the fan belt and the fan and that segwaysperfectly into 600.

FIG. 3A shows fine dotted lines are additional circuits going to thecomputer 200. Various instrumentations are shown at different locationsto detect air pressure and air speed. For example, feature 306 is asensor within the front lower duct to sense any kinds of physical thingswe need to know like the air speed of the pressure. Sensors 304 and 302are positioned in the upper front duct. Sensors 308 and 310 are in themiddle of the upper and lower ducts. Rear sensors 310, 312, 314represent various sensors at various locations in the rear upper ductand the rear snorkel duct and the rear lower duct.

The frame of the truck disclosed herein is a new box frame that enablesthe lower duct going through the front wheels. The box frame will haveto carry all the weight. It will be thicker than the traditional steelbox and it includes special features. There will be a continuous frameof two pieces of continuous metal from the front wheels all the way backto the articulation duct.

Details regarding the box frame include that, at the lower part therewill be a box and it will twist, widen and arch up over the top of thefront wheels. Another box will be formed in front of the front wheels.The box frame will use about the same amount of metal as traditionalframes. By getting rid of the gear transmission, the new truck will losea tremendous amount of weight. Some of this weight will be added backwith the drive, the planetary gears, and the hydraulic drive. Whenmechanics need to fix this truck, the two engines and many componentsare accessible from the side. The engines will be at approximately kneelevel. The serviceman could drive up with a motor and a couple of sparewheels and drives and can replace two wheels and an engine on this truckeasily. Everything is componentized. This reduces downtime.

Another aspect of this disclosure relates to a method embodiment. Asnoted in the side view of FIG. 3A and 3B, these figures illustrate thebasic control and communication systems both electronically andhydraulically between various components. The control system isgenerally illustrated as Feature 270. As has been noted, this may be anykind of known computing device or other device that may store a computerprogram for controlling the various functions of the motor, the brakingsystem, the air duct system(s) and any other system that may be computercontrolled as would be known by those of skill in the art. Accordingly,a method embodiment of the disclosure may include a step of receivinginformation from one or more sensors. The sensors may be located as isshown in FIGS. 3A and 3B in various locations such as the front upperduct 302, the front lower duct 306, various points of hydraulic valving,the hydraulic tank and pump 248, the high pressure low volume pump 244,one of the multiple split motors 214, the laminar system 215, 209, 207,the various components of the secondary thermodynamic cycle andhydraulic braking and control and electrical storage system. The sensorsmay also include sensors at the rear upper duct 314, the rear snorkelduct 312 and the rear lower duct 310. Sensors may be in these locationsas well as other locations and receive information such as related toair pressure, air volume, air speed, engine performance, fuel levels,fuel efficiency, information associated with the hydraulic systemsincluding braking and acceleration and so forth. In the context of asplit engine configuration where an air duct is positioned between thesplit engine blocks, the method will involve receiving information fromthese various sensor systems and providing control signals to thevarious mechanisms which may be controlled. Accordingly, control signalsmay be sent to, for example, one or both of the engine blocks whereinthey may be alternately turned on or off for fuel efficiency, has beennoted the valve control system to control signals may be sent to thevarious components associated with the 215, 209 and 207 for opening andclosing various venting holes which communicate with the interiorportions of at least one of the upper and/or lower air ducts. Similarlycontrolled signals may be sent to one or more of the multiple rearducting systems to also control the air flow which exits the one or moreair ducts. We also note that while a split engine configuration isshown, there may be other configurations in which more engine blocks maybe utilized. For example, a system may be implemented wherein four twocylinder engines are positioned in various locations in the vehicle eachof which may be separately controlled or controlled in a coordinatedmanner.

Accordingly, using the general principles above there are variousmethods which may be identified in terms of controlling the operation ofthis system. For example, one method may be to receive sensor data fromthe upper and/or lower ducts regarding pressure and air speedinformation and based on that information, the computer system mayprovide control systems to the laminar ducts to increase or decrease theamount of air flow that can leave the upper and/or lower ducts throughone or more of the side laminar control systems in order to improve thedesired air flow through the upper and/or lower ducts.

Another aspect of the disclosure may be to receive the wireless meanssuch as satellite, cellular or any other known or hereinafter developedwireless communication system for the control system 270 to receiveinformation which may be utilized in making adjustments in the variouscontrol systems of the vehicle. For example, a GPS system may beutilized in the control system to be able to receive positionalinformation of the vehicle such that the air pressure or utilization ofthe engines may be improved. For example, if it is known that thevehicle is coming up upon a steep slope, the system may engage, in anefficient way, both of the split engine blocks or may utilize pressurefrom one of the stored hydraulic pressure tanks and may make appropriateadjustments in order to most efficiently propel the vehicle up or down aparticular slope. Similarly, elevational information may be providedwhich may cause the control system to vary the positions of one or moreof the ducts or laminar ducts in order to accommodate for an elevationalparameter.

Similarly, weather information may be received wherein appropriateadjustments may be made based on the existence of condensation. Forexample, there may be appropriate adjustments that need to be made ifthere is the existence of or likelihood of the existence of water withinthe upper and/or lower ducts. For example, there may be other releasevalves which may provide a mechanism for water which may be found in theupper or lower ducts to be released in the context of the vehicletraveling through rain. In a similar fashion, a release or cleaningmechanism may be used to remove loose debris or creatures like birds,insects, bats, etc. which may be caught in the upper or lower ducts.

There may be other mechanisms which may be utilized for situations wherethe vehicle is traveling through snow. For example, there may be heatingmechanisms which may be employed within the upper and/or lower ducts orin other places to insure the continued controlled flow of air throughthe system, if ice builds up in any particular location then the systemmay be able to strategically employ a heating mechanism in order to meltthe ice in any particular location. One example of this may be to employvarious, separately controlled heating mechanisms which may bepositioned at likely locations where water may enter the system andfreeze. Frozen water in these positions may alter the flow of airthrough the duct system. Furthermore, providing heating can lessen theefficiency of the engine. Accordingly, if electrical heating systems arestrategically placed in various locations then the system may be able toreceive from sensors the location of frozen water within the duct systemand only provide energy to the position where the frozen water existssuch that wasted energy may not be sent to heating areas where ice doesnot exist. Accordingly, receiving such information from sensors andproviding such control systems will also be generally coordinated by thecomputer system 270. Another contemplated mechanism to assist in such asituation would be to provide easy access through openable side panelsalong the various duct systems such that one may easily be able to openup a side panel and have access to the upper and/or lower duct such thatthey can also be manually cleaned if necessary.

Another aspect of the disclosure may be that the upper duct 242 and thecanvas or flexible material, which may be lowered from the ceiling andwhich generally may sit on top of the cargo, may be dynamicallyadjustable. In this regard, there may be various sensors placedthroughout the upper duct such that air pressure and air flow may bemonitored and inasmuch as this canvas covering may be dropped down inorder to define the upper duct, the same mechanical system that is usedto drop that system down may also be used to variably adjust that ductsuch that it may become wider or narrower depending upon the needs ofthe system to maximize the air flow through the system. Furthermore, itmay be adjustable in various locations. Therefore, the front portion ofthe duct may be adjusted such that it's narrower and the rear portionmay be wider if such a control of air system may be needed in order tomaximize air flow through the system.

Another embodiment of the disclosure comprises a computer readablemedium. This may be a hard drive, a tape drive, a CD or any knownphysical medium that stores a computer program for controlling acomputing system to provide signaling to control the various mechanismsas disclosed herein. Unless expressly defined in the claims, suchcomputer readable medium does not cover an electrical signal that existsin the medium of air but is limited to a physical computer readablemedium. One aspect of the disclosure, if possible to claim, is thegeneration of such a signal, however, unless claimed in this manner itis not included in the scope of the claims.

Another aspect of this disclosure will also include an interactivesystem for the driver. In this regard, there may be presented to thedriver various images perhaps preferably on a touch sensitive screenwhere the driver may be able to view a visual presentation of theefficiency of the engine. For example, an image similar to that shown inFIG. 4 may be utilized as well as other presentations generally ofvarious images where the driver can monitor the efficiency of the airflow and the hydraulic systems and the other systems in the truck. Forexample, the illustration of air may be color coded. For example, if thesystem chooses blue to illustrate efficient air flow, then the drivercould see areas of the air ducts where it is shown to be blue and ifthere are other areas of the air duct where the sensors indicate thatthe air flow is less than efficient, given parameters such as the windspeed and the velocity of the vehicle and so forth, then the driver maybe able to see where problems may exist. This may apply to situationswhere, for example, if the driver notices that less than efficient airflow is found in the lower duct and the weather is cold and freezingsuch that the driver may suspect that ice is building up in a particularlocation. At the next stop the driver may be able to (if there is noautomatic heating system) open up a side panel and remove ice at alocation within the system where the air flow is less than perfect andbe able to improve that air flow for further fuel efficiency going ondown the road. Accordingly, an aspect of this disclosure is presentingdata based on the various sensor and other information to a driver suchthat the driver may be able to both monitor and also make decisionregarding the functionality of the various systems. Furthermore, anotheraspect of the disclosure would be to transmit such data, either realtime or with a latency factor, to a control center where the operationof the vehicle may be monitored and where automatic or manual decisionsmay be made regarding any of the control elements of the system. Suchinformation may be also received from a fleet of vehicles such that anaggregate report may be made wherein the system can identify, generally,where problems may exist within the vehicles. In this regard, feedbackdata may be received to make improvements in the air flow system. Forexample, if 100 vehicles often illustrate that there are particularlocations within the upper and/or lower duct where less than efficientair flow commonly exists then such a phenomenon may be studied in theaggregate such that in future vehicles or in current vehicles there maybe opportunities for improvement. Accordingly, a central computingsystem may be utilized which receives wirelessly or as trucks travelthrough various transceiver locations when the data may be collected.For example, the computing system 220 of the truck may store andaccumulate data associated with the vehicle as it travels down the roadand it's in various locations. That data may be then downloaded as thetruck moves through a metropolitan area where the owner has positionswhere a wireless communication link can be established and the data canbe downloaded and then compiled. Accordingly, general opportunitieswhich will be known to those of skill in the art will be made availablein terms of data, communication, presentation and analysis in thecontext of this vehicle that has a split engine block with one or moreair flow ducts and a hydraulic transmission system.

An aspect of this disclosure is to remove the mirrors and utilize videocameras that can present a display to the driver of various views. Oneor more cameras may also be placed in various locations within the ductsystem to view the air flow and whether there is ice or other debris inthe system. The system also handles bugs and so forth that may enter theduct system. There may be anti stick coatings or plastic liners that maybe placed at various locations for preventing objects from sticking.These may be removable and able to be easily replaced.

1. A tractor-trailer comprising: a tractor having a lower tractor ductthat receives first air from a front of the tractor and channels thefirst air through a center area of the tractor and down between a set ofrear wheels; a trailer having a lower trailer duct positioned below acargo space and that channels the first air in the lower trailer ductbetween each set of trailer rear wheels; and a lower articulation ductpositioned near the set of rear wheels in the tractor that receives airfrom the lower tractor duct and communicates air to the lower trailerduct.